Ten hunters who were arraigned in connection with last Sunday’s illegal protest in Valletta were remanded in custody this evening after Magistrate Marsanne Farrugia denied bail.
The hunters were taken to court shortly after 5pm over the illegal protest, which was held in the wake of the government’s decision to close the hunting season until 10 October. The decision was taken after a number of protected birds were shot out of the skies.
Inside the packed courtroom, Christian Aquilina, 27 of Birkirkara was the first to be arraigned. He was accused of organising a meeting without a permit, conspiring to commit a crime, inciting others to commit a crime, inciting hatred against the government and attempting to change something that is established by law.
Lawyer Raphael Fenech Adami contested the arrest and argued that, upon being told by the police he needed a permit to hold a protest, Mr Aquilina had deleted his previous Facebook post and cancelled the event. He had not even taken part and had collaborated fully with the police. On the other hand, the prosecution argued that Mr Aquilina was “the brain” behind the protest. Mr Aquilina pleaded not guilty. The Magistrate denied the request for bail until witnesses are summoned to testify.
At this point, lawyer Franco Debono, who is representing one of the hunters, complained that it was not fair for the court to deny bail just because the prosecution had witnesses. “It is unacceptable in a small country to keep them in custody. These are not foreigners. They are not leaving the country. This is not in the spirit of justice. I am willing to wait here for the prosecution to summon its witnesses this very evening.”
Nine other hunters were arraigned together. They are Arnold Farrugia, 21 of Dingli, Brian Grech, 22 of Rabat, David Spagnol, 44 of Marsaskala, Gabriel Farrugia, 20 of Mosta, Krist Callus, 24 of Zurrieq, Alan Mizzi, 22 of Zebbug Gozo, Simon Camilleri, 25 of Zabbar, Oliver Borg, 43 of Marsaskala and Josmar Buhagiar, 27 of Zabbar.
The nine men were charged with conspiring to commit a crime, offending the Prime Minister, inciting a crowd to commit a crime, taking part in a group comprising more than ten people and urging others to do the same. They were also charged with taking part in an illegal activity, inciting hatred against the government and breaching the public peace.
Arnold Farrugia, Brian Grech and Alan Mizzi were also charged with throwing stones at a building. Mr Farrugia was alone charged with carrying an imitation shotgun.
Krist Callus was charged with assaulting a Times of Malta cameraman and relapsing while David Spagnol was charged with assaulting a Times of Malta journalist and photographer.
Simon Camilleri was accused of committing a crime while serving a suspended sentence.
Gabriel Farrugia was charged with possession of banned trapping equipment and breaching a probation order. All nine men pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them.
The Magistrate then heard the submissions on bail. Superintendent Carmelo Bartolo said the police could not possibly summon all witnesses today. But lawyer Franco Debono said the police were required by law to present their evidence on the same day of the arraignment. It was wrong for the court to deny bail until all evidence was presented at a later stage. This was against the spirit of the law.
Lawyer Michael Schriha said a court had decided some years ago that a “spontaneous protest” did not amount to a crime but rather to an expression of opinion. He also said the prosecution could have requested police bail but had not, and it was now expecting these nine workers to risk losing their jobs just because the police did not use the right tools for the job. Furthermore, he said, there is no real risk of tampering with evidence since the alleged crimes were recorded on camera.
After deliberating for nearly an hour and a half, Magistrate Farrugia denied bail for the accused. The also denied the defence’s request for witnesses to be heard today.
This propmted an angry reaction from some of the hunters, one of whom stormed out of the court building and threw his jacket to the floor. He shouted repeatedly; “This is not justice. What did we do to deserve this?"
On exiting the court building the same hunter threatened a journalist who had taken pictures of the accused. A relative also filmed journalists with his mobile phone.
Inspectors Daryl Borg, Jurgen Vella and Edel Mary Camilleri prosecutted.